2011
Society Successfully Advocates for Inclusion of Report Language in FY 2012 Appropriations (12/17/2011) — On Saturday, December 17, President Obama signed into law the long awaited FY 2012 appropriation bill, which funds the federal agencies until September 31, 2012. The Heart Rhythm Society worked with members of the Senate Appropriations Committee to add report language encouraging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to consider targeting patients with atrial fibrillation in current and planned Medicare payment and quality improvement programs to improve patient outcomes and reduce avoidable healthcare costs. Learn more »
Alliance of Specialty Medicine Urges U.S. Super Committee to Address Specialty Care Issues (9/14/2011) — The Alliance of Specialty Medicine met with Super Committee Congressional staff to discuss and advocate for three legislative priorities relevant to specialty care in the United States: the Medicare Physician Payment Formula, the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) and medical liability reform. Following the meeting, the Alliance sent a letter to Members of Congress on the Super Committee to urge them to address those issues. Learn more »
Alliance of Specialty Medicine 2011 Legislative Conference (7/12/2011) — More than 80 physicians traveled to Washington, DC to attend the Alliance of Specialty Medicine Annual Legislative Conference on July 12-13. Christopher A. Clyne, MD and Sana M. Al-Khatib, MD, MHS, FHRS attended on behalf of the Society. Participants attended a full-day health policy forum and also met with their members of Congress to discuss repealing the Independent Payment Advisory Board, fixing the Medicare physician payment formula and reforming the Medical Liability system. Learn more »
Society Urges Congress to Include SGR Fix in Deficit Reduction Plan (6/29/2011) — On June 27, 2011 the Society joined 113 state and medical specialty societies in sending a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama, urging him to repeal the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula and permanently reform the Medicare physician payment system as part of any final agreement between Congress and the Administration on authorizing an increase in the debt ceiling. The current formula calls for cuts of 29.5 percent on January 1, 2012 for physician services. There is unanimous agreement among the letter’s signatories that cuts of this magnitude would result in serious disruptions for the nation’s elderly and disabled populations. Learn more »
Medicare and Medicaid Revisions in Proposed House Budget (4/13/2011)—The FY 2012 budget released last week by U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) dramatically changes the rules and scope for Medicare and Medicaid. This budget resolution is set to go to the House floor this week, when the debate will focus on the restructuring of Medicare and Medicaid. Learn more »
The Society Attends Its First Congressional Fly-In (3/23/2011) — Members of the Society's leadership traveled to Washington, DC, March 16 – 17 to attend the first congressional fly-in and visited more than 35 lawmakers and their staff. The goal of the fly-in was to raise visibility and support for a resolution promoting the awareness, diagnosis and treatment of atrial fibrillation and to discuss other issues relevant to heart rhythm care. Learn more »
FY 2012 Budget Includes "Doc Fix" (2/14/2011) — U.S.President Barack Obama presented his $3.7 trillion fiscal year 2012 budget to the U.S. Congress. The budget includes major changes to domestic health care spending, including an initiative to prevent cuts to Medicare-compensation for doctors for another two years (also known as the "doc fix"). The FDA and National Institutes of Health are also expected to see increases to their budgets, as part of several new spending initiatives which seek to expand cost-saving components while increasing accountability and improving health outcomes. Learn more »
Society Supports Medical Liability Reform (2/2/2011) — H.R.5, the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act, was introduced on January 24 by Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA), a physician who serves on the Health Subcommittee of the U.S House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce. The HEALTH Act would impose a new statutory of limitation requirement of three years for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, in addition to a variety of caps on awards juries could give to plaintiffs. The Alliance of Specialty Medicine sent a letter of support to Grinchey; the Heart Rhythm Society, as a member of the Alliance, was a signatory on the letter. Learn more »
2010
Congress Passes “Doc Fix,” a One-Year Extension of Medicare Reimbursement Rates (12/10/2010)— After several weeks of negotiations, Senate leadership agreed on bipartisan, fully-paid legislation that would protect physicians from the 25 percent Medicare pay cut scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2011. This extension instead keeps payments at current levels for a one-year period. Learn more »
President Release FY 2011 Budget Proposal (2/1/2010) — On Monday, President Barack Obama released his budget proposal, which includes the budgets for all federal agencies for fiscal year 2011. In his proposal, for the Department of Health and Human Services, the President proposed to increase funding to medical research by three percent, allocate $110 million to health information technology and $286 million for comparative effectiveness research. Learn more »
2009
House of Representatives Passes FY09 Appropriation (03/04/2009) — Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 appropriation on a vote of 245 to 178. This omnibus legislation (HR 1105) includes FY09 funding for nine appropriation bills, including Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA and Labor–Health and Human Services (HHS)–Education, not enacted last year because of disagreement between Democrats and President George W. Bush over spending levels. All health-related provisions increased over FY08.Learn more »
President Signs Stimulus Package (02/18/2009) — After being approved by the House of Representatives and by the Senate on Friday, February 13, the stimulus package was signed by President Barack Obama yesterday. The final version of the legislation includes provisions addressing Health Information Technology, Comparative Effectiveness Research and funding of medical research. Learn more »
First Comprehensive Health Reform Bill Introduced in Congress (02/11/2009) — Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the first comprehensive health reform legislation, the “Health American Act of 2009,” on February 6. This bill guarantees portable, affordable, high-quality private healthcare for every American — no longer tying health insurance to employers. As of yesterday, 12 senators have signed on to co-sponsor the proposed legislation. Learn more »
Congress Negotiates Healthcare Priorities in the Economic Recovery Bill (1/21/2009) — On Thursday, January 15, 2009, Democratic leaders of the House of Representatives released the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009,” commonly referred to as the stimulus package or economic recovery bill. Stimulus package priorities include lowering healthcare costs and transforming the economy with science and technology. Learn more »
2008
Congressional Recess until September: FDA and NIH Appropriation Unresolved (08/05/2008) — When Congress recessed on August 1, 2008, a number of outstanding items were left to be considered upon their return. That return will be brief, as Congress only plans to be in session September 6-26, 2008 before adjourning for the remainder of the year. The outstanding health-related items are a second economic stimulus package, which includes funding for supplemental NIH grants, the Fiscal Year 2009 appropriations for FDA, NIH, and bills dealing with Health Information Technology Adoption. Learn more »
The Society Participates in House of Representatives Small Business Committee Roundtable on CMS (03/12/2008) — On March 11, 2008, the Heart Rhythm Society, along with representatives from other physician societies, pharmacists and laboratories, participated in a roundtable on Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) impact on small physician practices, called by Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), House Small Business Committee Chair. Learn more »
